sci-fi_intro_notes

Science Fiction
Introduction Notes
1
Essential question (and ﬁnal exam):
What do the worlds of
Science Fiction teach us
about our own world?
2
What is Science Fiction?
• The term ‘Science Fiction’ is itself an
oxymoron
‘Science’ being ‘Fiction’ being
true and fabricated and
provable false
3
What is Science Fiction?
• Sci-Fi is not necessarily about the future, so
much as it is about the possibility of a future
or other world alternative.
• Sci-Fi is also not about predicting the future,
but rather exploring possibilities by
examining present-day events.
• In this case, good Sci-Fi must have scientiﬁc
principles that must be plausible, and the
events described must be valid within the
context of currently accepted scientiﬁc facts.
4
What is Science Fiction?
• So, a working deﬁnition for Sci-Fi could be
the exploration of alternate realities taken
from present-day events.
• ‘Speculative Fiction,’ a term many prefer,
could be substituted.
5
Where and when did
Sci-Fi begin?
• Many literary critics believe that the
Industrial Revolution (1775) may have played
a large role in the early creation of this
genre.
• As society became more technologically
advanced, the essential questions of Sci-Fi
began to rise to the surface.
6
Where and when did
Sci-Fi begin?
• Many literary critics believe
Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein
(1818) to be one of the
most early and popular
Sci-Fi texts.
• The often overlooked
subtitle of the book is The
Modern Prometheus.
In Greek mythology, Prometheus
is the Titan chieﬂy honored for
stealing ﬁre from the gods and
giving it to mortals for their use
(from Wikipedia).
7
Where and when did
Sci-Fi begin?
• Later, Jules Verne began to publish scientiﬁc
based ﬁction: Journey to the Center of the
Earth (1864).
• H.G. Wells published The Time Machine in
1895.
• By 1912, America became the leader of
Science Fiction literature. By 1926, America
dominated the ﬁeld, as it still does today.
8
How did Sci-Fi ﬁnd its
niche in America?
• Like the plot of many Sci-Fi texts, America
itself was invaded by aliens with a
dominating culture and superior technology,
especially in the area of weaponry.
9
Why is Sci-Fi often not considered
‘serious literature’ and accepted
by academia?
• The difﬁculty of ﬁnding quality Sci-Fi with so
much being produced annually — there are
many texts with little literary value —!had
given this genre an unfair reputation.
• However, there are diamonds in the broken
glass, and in the 1970s universities began
cashing in on such a popular genre.
10
Where does Sci-Fi ﬁt in
to the modern world?
• Today, Sci-Fi is widely discussed and widely
diversiﬁed, branching into many sub genres.
11
Sci-Fi Sub Genres
• Hard Sci-Fi • Medical Sci-Fi
• Space Opera • Psychological Sci-Fi
• Science Fantasy • Time Travel
• Sociological Sci-Fi • Alternative Histories
• Dystopian/Utopian Sci-Fi • Future Histories
• Military Sci-Fi • Space Travel
• Cyberpunk • Dimensional Travel
• Steampunk
• What needs to be remembered is that Sci-Fi is not limited to
these sub genres and these alone. Sci-Fi can also take on other
genres of ﬁction. For example, Frankenstein is also horror;
therefore Sci-Fi/Horror is often found.
12
What is the difference
between Sci-Fi and Fantasy?
• As a rule of thumb, Sci-Fi contains some
believable explanation of the devices found
therein.
• With Fantasy, magic is often employed
almost exclusively, swords and daggers may
be present, and society is somewhat
medieval with little technology.
13
What is the difference
between Sci-Fi and Fantasy?
• Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings has elements of
both Sci-Fi and Fantasy.
• Sci-Fi: lost technologies, i.e., the
manufacturing of the rings.
• Fantasy: swords, monsters, magic, lack of
technology, etc.
• In this case, LOTR should be considered as
Fantasy.
14
What is the difference
between Sci-Fi and Fantasy?
• Star Wars also has elements of both Sci-Fi
and Fantasy (much more so than Star Trek).
• Sci-Fi: space travel, aliens, very advanced
technology.
• Fantasy: (again) swords, monsters, magic,
‘Long time ago....’
• In this case, Star Wars is more Sci-Fi than
Fantasy.
15
Our list from earlier, a
point of reference
• Star Wars • Area 51 • Twilight Zone
• Equilibrium • Fahrenheit 451 • Ultraviolet
• Alien • Jurassic Park • Dark Angel
• Predator • Fireﬂy • Donnie Darko
• Godzilla • Stargate • Ghost Hunters
• War of the Worlds • Star Trek • Ghostbusters
• Transformers • Serenity • Chucky
• Spider-Man • Minority Report • Tales of the Crypt
• The Island • Waterworld • Planet Terror
• Lord of the Rings • Paycheck • Blade
• I, Robot • Eternal Sunshine of the • Signs
Spotless Mind
• I Am Legend • The Matrix • Batman
• X-Men • The Terminator • Timeline
16
What makes classic Sci-Fi possible
in such a world of change?
• The Sci-Fi of any time reﬂects that time’s own technology
and scientiﬁc thought. As the level and sophistication of
thought has grown, so has the ﬁction.
• Some stories have or will become dated, but timeless
themes and imaginative situations involving human
reaction to difﬁcult issues will keep readers interested in
classic works.
• Today, more than ever, technology is advancing rapidly
and the ways that humans adapt or fail to adapt will
determine the future. This is a scientiﬁc fact.
17
What themes will we be
exploring?
• Unexplained Phenomena
• Self-Knowledge
• The Individual vs. Society
• People in Time or Space
• Humans and Technology
• Humans and the Environment
18
What do the worlds of Sci-Fi
tell us about our own?
• Ethics/Morals • Our
responsibilities
• Society/
Government • Life
• Environment • Extra Terrestrial
• Religion
19